Discussion

The annual Major League Baseball (MLB) Home Run Derby will take place tonight in New York City at the Mets Citi Field ballpark and the “Home Run Weather” app index is a perfect 10 out of 10 so expect some impressive distances as the balls will fly. Temperatures will climb this afternoon into the mid-to-upper 90’s in the New York City metro region with full sunshine and high humidity. By the time the derby begins, temperatures will remain at lofty levels in the upper 80’s and the excessive humidity will no doubt be sticking around.

For its first couple of years, Citi Field was one of the toughest parks for hitting home runs (28th and 27th respectively out of 30 MLB parks), but then they moved the fences in before the 2012 season and now the park is in the middle of the pack in the National League (NL) and 12th overall. Specifically, the first half of the season saw an average of 1.89 home runs per game at Citi Field which placed the stadium exactly in the middle of the 15 NL parks. The average home run distance for the first half of this season was just a hair under 400 feet (399.9). The longest home run hit in Citi Field so far this season was 453 feet by Marlon Byrd of the Mets on June 16th – a distance very likely to be surpassed tonight at the derby thanks in large part to the hot, humid weather conditions. Last year's home run derby winner was Prince Fielder and he also hit the longest drives of the night (twice) at 476 feet. The longest home run ever hit in the home run derby was 528 feet by Sammy Sosa in 2002.